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Manobo tribal children flew kites on Friday in a symbolic message to government to pull out Army troops currently doing counterinsurgency rounds in their hometown in Talaingod, Davao del Norte.

The Department of Tourism (DOT) has asked private landowners in the resort island of Samal to yield the road right of way to a planned massive construction of road network, to buoy up the island’s importance as the “key site” in regional tourism.

“We believe that Art should not be for Art’s sake. It should mirror the dreams and aspirations for the women’s struggle for emancipation,”Ilagan said.

Six days after one of the country’s biggest fire this year leveled off an islet here, the city government announced that the informal settlers – or squatter families – would still be allowed to return but only after rehabilitation works would have ensured good access roads and safer electrical lines in the area.

The human rights group Karapatan here has blamed the deployment of several Philippine Army battalions in the Davao Region for evacuation and complaints of alleged harassment of villagers in the hinterlands.

“Ang gusto gyud ni mayor unta kung pwede mubalik ang mga Lumad og mga evacuees didto sa Brgy.Palma Gil, didto sa safe area nato, dayun i-assure ni mayor ang pagkaon og tanan makaya ihatag sa gobyerno. (The mayor wants the Lumad evacuees to return to Barangay Palma Gil, in a safe place. The Mayor also assures that there would be food and other relief goods to be provided for them),” Tocmo told the leaders.

“The challenge is how to implement it. The RH Law may appear to be pro-women but the other policies of government are anti-women, such as the privatization of public hospitals, and the other policy of the Department of Health of no home-birthing,” Ilagan said.

The New People’s Army (NPA) announced Sunday they are intensifying their total log ban campaign in Compostela Valley, Davao del Norte and Agusan del Sur, starting with the capture of a “protector” of big loggers—a soldier belonging to the 72nd Infantry Battalion.

A return to the “militarized areas” is also a violation to international human rights instruments, said Bishop Felixberto Calang, of the Iglesia Filipina Independiente and chairperson of Barug Katungod Mindanao.